Survey: 56% of U.S. Consumers Have Abandoned a Mobile Transaction

A new study from Jumio examines why users abandon their mobile shopping carts before making a purchase or opening an account.

Jumio, an identity management and credentials company, has released the results of its latest Mobile Consumer Insights study, which is a follow-up to its 2013 study of the same name.

Conducted online by Harris Interactive, the study measured purchase abandonment rates among 2,019 U.S adults aged 18-and-up, and found 56 percent of smartphone owners have abandoned a mobile transaction. This is a decrease from 2013, when 66 percent of respondents said they had failed to complete a transaction due to issues during the checkout process.

The new study documented the factors that cause users to abandon a mobile purchase or account registration. General uncertainty over the purchase leads at 45 percent, with additional factors including slow loading times (36 percent), difficulty navigating the app or mobile site (31 percent), difficulty typing personal information on a small screen (28 percent) and complicated payment processes (22 percent).

Breaking these abandoned purchases down by industry, apparel was found to be the most frequently abandoned item, with 60 percent of those respondents who reported abandoning purchases having done so when shopping for clothing, shoes and accessories.

Women were found to be more likely to abandon an apparel purchase than males, at 68 percent to 51 percent, respectively, while female millennials were especially likely to do so, at 78 percent. Other highly abandoned industries include food and travel, both at 41 percent.

At the other end of the scale, users were shown to be less likely to abandon account creation for online gaming and financial services (like money transferring), with 27 percent and 23 percents abandonment rates, respectively.

While consumers were less likely to say they’d abandoned a transaction that involved opening an account, as compared to making a purchase, this may be in part because these transactions typically require some degree of forethought and commitment, particularly in financial services.

These businesses still need to keep factors such as ease of use and security top of mind to maximize the number of users who complete their transaction moving forward.

While some users may be quick to abandon their mobile shopping carts, 66 percent of those who have abandoned a mobile transaction said they attempted to make the same transaction again later. However, only 23 percent tried the second transaction on their smartphone, while 36 percent said they made the next attempt on their computer. Seven percent tried on a tablet.

Younger users were found to be more likely to give the transaction a second attempt, with 77 percent of users 18-34 trying the transaction again at a later time.